Simple easy, easy simple.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Overcoming evil with kindness
Romans 12:17-21
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Amen.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
A Sound Prayer
How do you pray? This is a question that I used to ask when I first baptized and has never disappeared from my life as I subsequently encountered by both believers and non-believers.
So, is there a format for praying?
Debatable. However, one will come to a consensus that the core of prayer is about communicating, confessing to God and doing it wholeheartedly.
Bible about prayer (Matthew 6: 5 - 14):
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
A satisfactory answer based from credible source. What if we want to pray about specific matter?
As I surfed through the internet and an accumulative knowledge from various church sources, there are two sets of guidelines you may consider:
A) The 5 Fingers of Prayer is a simple way of praying and focuses on the notion of loving people. This is also commonly taught to young children as a fundamental way of caring about others, be it blood-related or unrelated, through action of praying. Read here!
As we grow, we see more, we hear more, we sense more, and there, trouble more. The next prayer tends to have an inclination of forming a more intimate connection between you and God.
B) The A.C.T.S Formula is a galvanizing method, and some says 'complete' way, of praying with the following 4 elements:
- Adoration: Give God praise and honor for who he is as Lord over all.
- Confession: Honestly deal with the sin in your prayer life.
- Thanksgiving: Verbalize what you're grateful for in your life and in the world around you.
- Supplication: Pray for the needs of others and yourself.
Hope you have a greater insights and concrete ideas of going about establishing relationship of God after reading this. Amen!
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Oh, God!
Interestingly, an in-house movie appreciation together with my sisters on Sunday night.
The comedic story centers on Jerry Landers, a kind-hearted and diligent assistant supermarket manager and a non-believer, whom is chosen by God, a disguised old man, as a messenger (a 'contemporary' Moses) to spread his words and testify his existence. A non-believer, he was extremely skeptical of the God's existence but still obeyed reluctantly approached the media about his encounter with the divine. As the story flows, he subsequently believe after witnessing the God's mysterious appearance and performed miracles and began to have unyielding faith in him. It was commendable for his total trust in God in such a short time despite the God's seemingly ridiculous requests to slander which later invited a lawsuit, which reminded us about Moses being told by God to kill his beloved son to test his faithfulness, in addition of vis-à-vis the distrust of his closest kins, pressure of religious authorities and mocking from the media and public.
As a modern audience who has a myriad varieties of great movies (advanced visual effects from 3D to CGI) to pick, this old movie and plot totally appeals to even today's viewers with its humor and shooting style notwithstanding being overall simple. Unlike many films that utilized sexual appeals, body function jokes or bring-to-the-table messages that they want to convey, this film is light-mooded, humorous, plays no emotional tricks and leaves room for thoughts.
The best parts, in my opinion, were:
1 when Lander asked God about which world's religions is the closet to the divine truth, God answered, "The divine truth is not in a building or a book or a story.. Put down that the heart is the temple wherein all truth resides."
2 and whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he answered, "Jesus was my son. Buddha was my son. Mohammed, Moses, you, the man who said there was no room at the inn, was my son."
Here, some food for thought.
Although the screenwriting about the God is varied from what we understand from the scriptures in order to cater to the audience (humor, surprises, the thrilling unexpected etc), it is a great feeling to see how benevolent and accepting our Lord God is.
The following video depicts the final part of the story. After an intensive period of mental turmoil, God finally appeared to Lander's rescue in clearing his name and dispelling the public's doubt about his 'second coming' and bringing the truth to light.
At the end of the day, the morale of the story tells us we hold the ultimate decision to believe in whatever we see or hear - faith.
One memorable quote by God in the movie, "I know how hard it is in these times to have faith. But maybe if you could have the faith to start with, maybe the times would change. You could change them. Think about it. Try. And try not to hurt each other. There's been enough of that. It really gets in the way. I'm a God of very few words and Jerry's already given you mine. However hopeless, helpless, mixed up and scary it all gets, it can work. If you find it hard to believe in me, maybe it would help you to know that I believe in you."
Amen.
More quotes from "Oh, God!"
"Oh, God!", featuring George Burns & John Denver (2007)
The comedic story centers on Jerry Landers, a kind-hearted and diligent assistant supermarket manager and a non-believer, whom is chosen by God, a disguised old man, as a messenger (a 'contemporary' Moses) to spread his words and testify his existence. A non-believer, he was extremely skeptical of the God's existence but still obeyed reluctantly approached the media about his encounter with the divine. As the story flows, he subsequently believe after witnessing the God's mysterious appearance and performed miracles and began to have unyielding faith in him. It was commendable for his total trust in God in such a short time despite the God's seemingly ridiculous requests to slander which later invited a lawsuit, which reminded us about Moses being told by God to kill his beloved son to test his faithfulness, in addition of vis-à-vis the distrust of his closest kins, pressure of religious authorities and mocking from the media and public.
As a modern audience who has a myriad varieties of great movies (advanced visual effects from 3D to CGI) to pick, this old movie and plot totally appeals to even today's viewers with its humor and shooting style notwithstanding being overall simple. Unlike many films that utilized sexual appeals, body function jokes or bring-to-the-table messages that they want to convey, this film is light-mooded, humorous, plays no emotional tricks and leaves room for thoughts.
The best parts, in my opinion, were:
1 when Lander asked God about which world's religions is the closet to the divine truth, God answered, "The divine truth is not in a building or a book or a story.. Put down that the heart is the temple wherein all truth resides."
2 and whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he answered, "Jesus was my son. Buddha was my son. Mohammed, Moses, you, the man who said there was no room at the inn, was my son."
Here, some food for thought.
Although the screenwriting about the God is varied from what we understand from the scriptures in order to cater to the audience (humor, surprises, the thrilling unexpected etc), it is a great feeling to see how benevolent and accepting our Lord God is.
The following video depicts the final part of the story. After an intensive period of mental turmoil, God finally appeared to Lander's rescue in clearing his name and dispelling the public's doubt about his 'second coming' and bringing the truth to light.
At the end of the day, the morale of the story tells us we hold the ultimate decision to believe in whatever we see or hear - faith.
One memorable quote by God in the movie, "I know how hard it is in these times to have faith. But maybe if you could have the faith to start with, maybe the times would change. You could change them. Think about it. Try. And try not to hurt each other. There's been enough of that. It really gets in the way. I'm a God of very few words and Jerry's already given you mine. However hopeless, helpless, mixed up and scary it all gets, it can work. If you find it hard to believe in me, maybe it would help you to know that I believe in you."
Amen.
More quotes from "Oh, God!"
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